Opera Idols

The blog of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Eastern Region, featuring interviews with judges and singers and providing background information about the application process and auditions. We also have great articles on opera in general

Virginie Verrez, mezzo-soprano from France, was a Grand Finals winner just last March. Starting this September, she will be a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the MetOpera.

Meanwhile, she has sung Fenena in Nabucco at the Passiontheater in Germany and this month she will sing Beatrice in Berlioz's Beatrice et Benedict at the Matsumoto Festival in Japan. She is expected to sing in Sante Fe next summer.

Next month, she will be joining us at our Fall preview party. If you would like to attend this wonderful event, you can buy tickets here.

Opera Idols:What was your experience like auditioning?

Virginie Verrez: It was a long process; I had to be patient. And it was very stressful so I had to figure out how to relax, so I started yoga.

OI:What was it like singing on the MetOpera stage?

VV: Singing on the Met stage with the Met Orchestra was thrilling. The acoustics are really great and it feels wonderful to sing on that stage.

OI:What advice would you give to this year's participants?

VV: This competition is not about showing off; it is about musicianship.

MetOpera National Council Eastern Region

The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. The auditions are held annually in fourteen Regions of the United States and Canada.

Many of the world’s foremost singers, among them Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, and Eric Owens have received awards from the National Council.

I want to tell the donors how much they mean to me and all the singers that they help. They are a lifeline for us and I can personally say that, through the Met competition, they helped me to just keep going in an extremely difficult industry. Through their giving, they gave me the means to be able to put food on the table, keep studying, and keep singing. I will always, ALWAYS be grateful for their generosity. - Tenor Joseph Dennis - 2015 Grand Finals Winner